McDowell County, NC jobs, unemployment and layoffs

McDowell County’s unemployment rate is 3.2%. No layoff notices here in the last 12 months. 13 open professional jobs are in its cities.

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McDowell County economy

3.2%
unemployment, Sep 2026
3.8% the month before
18,583
in the labor force
Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
44,679
people in McDowell County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$55,527
median household income
Source: Census ACS
29%
of workers in white-collar occupations
Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

McDowell County outlook: Steady

Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.

Private-sector jobs down 0.5% from 2022 to 2025
Population up 1.4% from 2020 to 2025
Unemployment 3.2%, down 0.6 points from a year ago

Learn and get funded in McDowell County

Which AI skills each kind of job asks for, with the pay premium.
Your local workforce board and American Job Centers: training vouchers and re-employment help.
Grants and funding for job seekers, ranked for your state and situation.
Unemployment benefits by state, if you are between jobs.

McDowell County layoffs

No layoff notices naming McDowell County in the last 12 months are on file. The WARN Act covers employers with 100 or more workers, so smaller layoffs are not in it.

All layoff notices in the state

Employers hiring most in McDowell County

Employers with the most open professional roles in this county’s cities. The county is taken from each job’s city, so roles with no city are not counted.

Crane4 open roles
Davita2 open roles
McDowell High School2 open roles
Baxter Behavorial Health HSP1 open role
Crane ChemPharma & Energy1 open role
Hobby Lobby1 open role
Rha Health Services1 open role
Welch Allyn1 open role

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving McDowell County. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.

Laid off in North Carolina? How to file for unemployment in North Carolina (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).

Foothills Workforce Development Board
Cleveland, McDowell, Polk, Rutherford

NCWorks Career Center- McDowell County
Marion · Comprehensive · 828-652-7131
Mon-Thur 8:30am-5pm Closed 12pm-1pm for lunch, Fri 8:30am-noon

Cities in McDowell County

Marion13 jobs

Other North Carolina counties

All of North Carolina

Laid off or looking for work in McDowell County?

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See your options after a layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS (county unemployment is not seasonally adjusted); layoff notices from North Carolina’s published record; job counts from our live job board; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. North Carolina unemployment benefits and severance rules.

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